Find True Prosperity

Daily writing prompt

If your pet could talk, what would be the first thing it says?

The deceitfulness of money and the desire to be wealthy work together as distractions from true prosperity. Fill your life with inner riches. Focus on treasuring and cultivating the wealth of health, an abundance of heart-to-heart community, the beauty of nature, the affluence of peace of mind, and the riches of contentment and joy.

If your pockets are overflowing with money but your heart is bankrupt of gratitude, you are still far away from prosperity. Wanting more and loving less is not success.

Prosperity is so much more than the accumulation of things. It’s the acquisition of a treasure chest of faith, hope, and love. Refuse to allow inner passivity and spiritual inaction to push you off the path that leads to freedom from sadness, discouragement, despair, and depression.

The prosperity that produces pride builds a divide between people. Material wealth is a tool to be used not an idol to be worshipped. Financial success without character, honesty, and morality is an empty vault.

The pursuit of happiness and the pursuit of economic gain are not the same thing. True happiness isn’t the absence of hard times it’s learning to live with joy in both good times and hard times.

Evaluating yourself by your bank account will produce more stress than feelings of secure success. True prosperity is built on non-financial assets. If you’re not achieving inner peace and lasting joy, you’ve wandered from the path to true prosperity.

True prosperity comes from aligning your heart, your thoughts, and your behaviors with God. The Bible advocates self-focused fault-finding. That’s what true prosperity and repentance are all about. “Have mercy on me.” (Mark 10:47) Self-righteousness, on the other hand, promotes the false prosperity of finding fault in others to justify ourselves.

King David prayed: “Search me, God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me.” (Psalm 139:23-24) And: “Create in me a pure heart, O God.” (Psalm 51:10) That, not his material wealth, was his true prosperity.

Prosperity

How much stuff
Does it take
For your soul
To prosper?
(3 John 1:2)
Food and clothes
Are enough.
Be content.
(1 Timothy 6:8)
Enjoy
Inner peace.
(Philippians 4:7)

About Steve Simms

I like to look and think outside the box. In college I encountered Jesus Christ and I have been passionate about trying to get to know Him better ever since. My wife and I long to see the power and passion of the first Christ-followers come to life in our time. I have written a book about our experiences in non-traditional church, called, "Beyond Church: An Invitation To Experience The Lost Word Of The Bible--Ekklesia." If you need encouragement, search for: Elephants Encouraging The Room and/or check out my Amazon author page. Thank you!

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